McGraw suing unlicensed debt collection agencies

CHARLESTON - West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw is suing seven unlicensed collection agencies, and their owners, to enforce investigative subpoenas and stop them from engaging in unlawful practices in the state.

On Tuesday, McGraw's office said it began investigating the companies after receiving complaints alleging they engaged in "abusive" and "unlawful" debt collection practices.

The attorney general said the practices included repeated harassing phone calls, impersonating law enforcement and judicial officers, making false threats that non-payment will result in arrest or criminal prosecution, and collecting non-existent debts or debts that have already been paid.

Spokesman Norman Googel said McGraw's office received at least one complaint, if not a few, for each company.

"When we receive even one complaint, we investigate," he explained. "From that one complaint, we can tell if they are a licensed company or if they are violating the law."

He said a hearing will be held and a court will most likely order the companies to comply with the subpoenas. The companies will most likely be given 30 days from the court order to turn over the requested information.

If they don't, Googel said the next step is to file for petition of contempt.

"Then another hearing would be held, and they would have to show good reason as to why they can't turn over the documents," he said.

Most likely, the companies, or their owners, won't show up to any of the hearings, he said.

"The court then can issue other actions, like fines, to force them to comply," Googel said, adding that is a common remedy.

Fines, he said, might finally get the companies' attention.

"I have directed my staff to aggressively pursue all such violators and to do whatever it takes to force compliance with laws governing the conduct of collection agencies," McGraw said in a statement.